Editor's WelcomeWelcome to the winter edition of Sweet Medicine Australia Newsletter. Very soon one of our most powerful ceremonies of the year, Eagle Dance will be held. This ceremony’s intent is to dance your personal and our collective dreams awake. Personal dreams may include experiences, hearts desires, clarity of vision that you wish to call in for the year ahead. On a collective level, people dance for the greater well being and growth of the world – for dreams that promote hope, harmony, health, happiness and humour. The Eagle is a powerful symbol in our Sweet Medicine tradition. Not only do the attributes of an Eagle reflect messages from nature to us but the eagle is the bird that is a sacred message carrier – carrying on its wings our prayers and dreams to Great Spirit and bringing back “messages” to the people. The tree of life is a universal symbol found in many spiritual traditions. The tree not only provides protection and shelter, food, beauty, the breath of life but is also a symbol of the joining between the “so below” and “as above” – its roots digging deep into mother Earth whilst its branches and leaves reach skywards. The Tree of Life links the heavens, the earth, and all that is hidden and growing below. Details are provided in this newsletter on how to find more information or to register! May you dance your dreams awake in 2016Bronwyn ​

NATURAL CYCLES OF 24-HOUR TIME FOR HUMANS

Like Grandmother Earth, we as humans experience four times of change as well. However, they are a little different. You will notice below that midday and midnight are where we as humans have switched the East and West with Grandmother Earth’s movement. Due to society’s scheduling, most humans lose alignment with their inner change time. At midday, we need to go inward and rest our body, but in our daily lives, most people are working. During our fire time at midnight, most people are sleeping. But naturally, the strongest time for humans to do ceremony is between midnight and sunrise! It is naturally their active fire time. “The sun teaches to all things that grow their longing for light. But it is night that raises them to the stars.” – Kahlil GibranWhat is our natural time change as humans within the four directions?In the South, there is Sunrise. This is also our exhalation, our “breathing out” time. It is when we most connect with our own inner water element, our fluidity of self and emotion. Coming from our fire time, we use the inner waters to cool the fire.

In the West, there is Midday.Here we as humans are in the burning heat and fire on Grandmother Earth. We must put our earth body lodge to rest. Many cultures in Mexico, Europe and elsewhere align with this energy shift by closing their shops and other business activities between 12pm and 2pm and enjoy leisure and siesta as a rest period.

In the North, there is Sunset. Here the mind gets calm. This is a magick time were we have more of our inner gifts available to us. This is especially true if we are in alignment with Grandmother’s cycle. Usually at this time we are rushing home from work or fixing dinner, not aligning with calm energy.

In the East, there is Midnight. When much of Grandmother Earth is introspective and calm, it is our time to embrace the fire element within. This is when our activity energy is the highest, for our inner fire is going full blast. It is a good time to do sorcery and magick, a time to source the force of creation. Those who work a night shift have tapped in to this energy. However, due to work scheduling , most people are asleep during this time. They make this their quiet time, when in fact, it is potentially their most powerfully creative time. This puts people out of alignment.

Take some time to pay attention to your own natural cycles. What do you observe?

Australia will hold its 6th Eagle Dance at the end of August and anyone who is interested in taking part in this powerful ceremony is invited to join us. Eagle Dance is a one-day ceremony in which the participants dance to the “Tree of Life” with the intent of manifesting through dance and prayer Health, Prosperity and Abundance for Self, Life and Others. It is an annual ceremony where we dance our intent for the next year in all areas of life -to bring balance and beauty to our lives; to engage with ourselves and hear our own prayers. The prayers are carried to the “As Above” through the branches of the tree and return to us from Great Spirit through the tree, so as we dance we activate and strengthen our personal and sacred dreams. The drum beat and songs carry us through the dance with their heartbeat. It is a magickal empowering event and indeed a dance of renewal, every year! We will gather as a community, prepare and build the Eagle Dance arbor thus creating the container that will hold the Eagle Dance ceremony. Then we dance. Then we celebrate! Ceremony leads you into another dimension, another state of consciousness. Doing ceremony is always an act of power that brings a gain in energy and a connection to all things in your life. Red Lodge Teacher Debra Laughlin spoke about the Eagle Dance ceremony and its significance and intent.

​​Join us for the Shamanic De-armoring in Byron Shire from 7-27 August, 2016! Want to shake off your shackles and awaken your life force through your whole being? The De-armoring is filling up fast but we still have space for you & are very excited about the energy that is building for this transformative ceremony!

Benefits of De-Armoring : Shamanic De-Armoring has innumerable benefits and each person experiences these in slightly different ways. Participants who have completed the de-armoring process have reported the following: » Increased sensitivity in the physical body, opening the way towards deeper intimacy. » Deeper connection to Self and a stronger resonance with Spirit. » More active and healthy commitment to your sexuality, awakening your natural sexual expression. » Increased ability to deal with and integrate change. » Stabilized orgone in the body that increases your metabolism and the energy available to maintain your vital health. You will have more overall energy. » Awakened senses and conscious awareness of your life force energy moving throughout your body. » Greater freedom in your body, allowing expression of your naturalness with ease and grace. Your body was meant to be a temple for your spirit, not a prison for your soul!

NEWS FROM OZ RED LODGE

Registrations for 2017 have opened. There are some “Extreme Early Bird Discounts” available for those wanting to signal their intent for joining us in 2017. If you want to know more about the Red Lodge program, please join us at our upcoming linage address (July 28th) in Mullumbimby. Stay tuned for upcoming preview nights to be held later this year. For further information or to be added to our mailing list please email info@sweetmedicine.com.au or go to our website sweetmedicine.com.auTo find out more about the program go towww.redlodge.com.au or call Lucinda

RED LODGE DATES FOR 2017

FIRST YEAR - Red Lodge 2017Session 1: March 16-19th, 2017Session 2: May 11-14thSession 3: July 27-30th Ceremonial Week and Eagle Dance: August 24-31stSession 4: October 19-22nd Session 5: December 14-17th

SECOND YEAR – 2017Session 1: March 24-26th, Session 2: May 5-7thSession 3: August 4-6thCeremonial Week and Eagle Dance: August 24-31stSession 4: October 13-15thSession 5: December 8-10th

THIRD YEAR – 2017Session 1: March 24-26th, Session 2: May 5-7thSession 3: July 21-23th Ceremonial Week and Eagle Dance: August 24-31stSession 4: October 13-15thSession 5: December 8-10th

FOURTH YEAR – 2017Session 1: March 10–13Session 2: April 29–May 1(no Lineage Address this weekend)Session 3: July 28–31Ceremonial Week and Eagle Dance: August 26th to September 2ndSession 4: October 20–23Session 5: December 8–11

“When we do ceremony we connect to all the worlds of Grand Mother Earth. We find our way back to our naturalness and beauty.”

Join us on Thursday the 28 July to connect into knowledge and wisdom around ceremony. Kristin Viken is a senior teacher in this path having studied for over 25 years.

The Lineage Address is a talk given at the opening to the Red Lodge sessions. They are community events. Everyone is invited to attend and hear from one of the most senior teachers on the Path of the Sweet Medicine SunDance Tradition. Subject matter is drawn from the teachings of the Deer Tribe Metis Medicine tradition. Evenings begin at 6:45 pm and generally conclude around 9:00pm. We ask people to arrive between 6 and 6:30pm Lineage addresses are currently held in Mullumbimby. Cost: $15 pd at the door. (Red Lodge students free)​RSVPs appreciated

UPCOMING PURIFICATION LODGES

You are invited to attend a Community Purification Lodge Ceremony (sweat lodge) in the Sweet Medicine Sundance Tradition in our Grandmother Womb space in Mullumbimby. The purification ceremony offers us an opportunity for prayers for self, life and others and for healing. All are welcome, no experience necessary. Bookings are required to attend purification lodges An email with all the preparation information needed to attend will be sent to you.

WHENDate: Sunday 31st July Time: afternoon 6.30pm (NSW time) Intent: This is a North Sweat and holds the intent for Flexible Clarity, Open Receptivity, Sobriety and connection to our Highest Intent Dance Chief is Steve RSVP: July 30th Saturday to Stephen fireheart2050@gmail.com or call him on 0438328970

Date: Monday August 1, 2016Time: Gathering Circle starts promptly at 10amIntent: This is an East Sweat and holds the intent of connecting more deeply with Spirit and becoming a balanced Human Being. Dance chief for this ceremony is Heather Laughingdeer. Please contact Heather laughingdeer@hotmail.com or 0400408239

WHAT IS THIS SWEET MEDICINE “LEARNING THROUGH PLEASURE” ALL ABOUT? BY MUKEE OKAN

​The Grandmother Matriarchs of the Sweet Medicine SunDance Path declare that the PHYSICAL IS IT. And that pleasure is mastery of the Physical.Where are you at in your life in relationship to the extraordinary gift and the pleasure of being in a physical body? How is your health, your home, your relationship with Self, then Life and others? Leaping out of bed each morning with joyful passion and enthusiasm?How well do you know your anatomy and physiology, your sacred body temple? What is your relationship to your body? How do you express your sexual energy? What brings you pleasure daily?

​​How is your orgasmic life?

Orgasm is Great Spirit’s Number One Gift for our greatest health, healing and well-being. Physiologically orgasm moves along all the toxins, all the metabolic wastes naturally generated in the body over a 24 hour period. So much more aliveness is available when we truly embrace all the expressions of Orgasm. The key is letting go of striving for a result an outcome. Orgasm loves to take over and flood the body when we relax, allowing the parasympathetic nervous system to switch on first — for women and for men.​Then the skies, the stars, the planets are the limit . . .

​"Feel the energy of your inner body. Immediately mental noise slows down or ceases. Feel it in your hands, your feet, your abdomen, your chest. Feel the life that you are, feel the life that animates the body. The body then becomes a doorway, so to speak, into a deeper sense of aliveness underneath the fluctuating emotions and underneath your thinking.

"There is an aliveness in you that you can feel with your entire Being, not just in the head. Every cell is alive in that presence in which you don't need to think. Yet, in that state, if thought is required for some practical purpose, it is there. The mind can still operate, and it operates beautifully when the greater intelligence that you are uses it and expresses itself through it." Eckhardt Tolle, Stillness SpeaksOur Soul’s hunger is to be in a state of pleasurable learning. This is our natural evolutionary hunger according to the sacred laws of the Universe.

SWEET MEDICINE AUSTRALIA: Upcoming Events

​Some exciting news, Bob Killip is running the Bush Survival Program for 2016!!

Do you want to upskill your bush survival skills?(and for current students contribute towards black lodge requirements for 1,2 & 3rd gateways)Learn • Bush navigation using natural orientation, map and compass and GPS. • Finding or generating water.• Making a fire with and without matches.• Seeking or creating shelter.• Bush food and cooking • Testing our new navigation skills via night navigation and orienteering.

Razel Wolf will be delivering ‘Magic of Menopause – A Mind Body, Spirt Journey into Power’ workshop this December in Mullumbimby.

The workshop is for any woman who has reached the stage in her life where her bleeding cycle is beginning to change (the signs are as varied as we women are) to any woman who has stopped bleeding and is looking for insights and empowerment in this chapter of their life.Workshop will be held at Earth Heart Lodge, from 6.30pm Tuesday 6 December to 5.00pm Thursday 8 December 2016. Please see poster attached.

​You are invited to the ONLY Sweet Medicine SunDance Path Quodoushka Spiritual Sexuality programs in Australia in 2017! Experience the power of learning through pleasure. With Mukee Okan, Kristin Viken and John Kent.

Q1: 2 - 5 March & Q2: 9 - 12 March in Mullumbimby, near Byron Bay for Singles and Couples EARLY REGISTRATION SPECIAL for all FOR Q1 & 2$895 per person per Q paid in full by September 30, 2016

WORDS FROM THE BUSH POET ... Neil Black Panther Warrior

​Teaching to LearnIf we do not speak of another’s workAs the truth of our own experienceBut simply do the workAnd let the truth of that workSpeak through our experienceThen we do not elevate the teacher’s experienceAs more than oursNor the students workAs less than the teacher’sThere is simply the workAnd our own experience within thatThis is the contract we make with Great SpiritWho is ever unfolding through our experienceAs we make our medicine our workAnd our work our medicineIn our livesAs an expression of the greater truthsThat only the universe can unveil to usAs we engage with ourselvesWith and in the great workOf coming to know ourselvesAs a fully healed and actualised cell Within the body of creationFor the teacher cannot teachWhen the student is not preparedBut the student who is ready and able to learnWill still learnEven if the teacher is not yet ready